Werewolves of New York: Nathaniel (7 page)

“No! I’m not online dating. I met him on your birthday at that club. Well, I kind of did. But then afterward…” She quickly explained how they locked eyes at the club, lied about giving him her business card, and how he tracked her down and showed up at her apartment building the next day. She told Rose truthfully that she'd sent him away that day thinking him a stalker, but that his friends had interviewed her to get them back in the same room together and now here they were on a date. She kept out the part about the near-rape, him saving her, and the fact that she thought maybe he wasn't human. Plus, she didn’t want Rose to think she was dating a murderer. Even though she was?

“So, let me get this right. You’re calling me because you’re terrified you’ll jump on his lap and start grinding away right there at the dinner table?”

Michelle laughed and Rose cracked up, too. “No! Well, yes! I just…I’m kind of stuck. He’s more than perfect and I am freaking the fuck out! The way he looks at me, I can't explain it. Feels like something big is happening, and I didn't want to leave you out of it.”

Rose got serious. “Michelle. You are amazing. I love you, and you deserve a man who makes you feel precious. It sounds like he does that, and he’s sought you out and found out where you lived. He’s not a sicko?”

Shaking her head even though Rose couldn’t see her, Michelle said, “No! He’s not a sicko. He’s a gentleman and there’s something…special about him.”

“Well, then get your ass back out there! And call me tomorrow. I want details. Don’t fuck him tonight.”

“Why not?”

Rose laughed at the disappointment. “Because you need to make sure he comes back. You don’t pay for the milk…”

“Oh, shut up. Alright.” Michelle hung up and shoved the phone in her purse. Glancing to the mirror, she was pleased with how she looked. A little wild-eyed but she fixed that quickly, and opened the door with a calm she did not have. Fake it ‘til you make it, as the saying goes.

True to cliché, the food was waiting on the table when she returned. He stood up again and she touched his arm as she passed. “It looks delicious!”

Sitting down, she smiled and focused on cracking open the lobster shell. “You moved here with all of them? You all lived in Maine?”

“Mmmhmm.” He was watching her carefully as he used a large steak knife to slice the meat.

“I see.” An unexpected laugh burst out from him and she looked up, wondering what had caused it.

Grinning, his eyes danced. “You are an open book.”

She blushed and put the lobster tail down, wiping her fingers off on the white linen napkin and reaching for her wine goblet. “How so?”

“You obviously don’t like lobster. The frown on your face is extreme.”

She swallowed a larger gulp of wine than she’d expected to and stared at him over the glass. Holding it in both her hands, she whispered, “It’s not that.”
It’s that I want to know what you are and I couldn’t ask my friend, and I can’t ask you! Can I?

His smile disappeared as he watched her face. Setting down the utensils, he leaned in and held his arm over the white linen tablecloth. She laid her hand on his and he wrapped his fingers around her firmly. “What is it then? Is something on your mind?”

Staring at their joined fingers, she opened her mouth to speak. Nothing came out. Shaking her head, she knew she had to wait for him to tell her.

“Michelle.” She glanced up from their hands. “Did I say something wrong?”

She smiled. “No! You’ve done everything right. I misunderstood you the other day, and I’m sorry for getting so angry and leaving you there on the street. I didn’t know…” She swallowed the words,
it was you telling me to run.

Darkness flashed across his face and he released her hand. “You didn’t know what?” He looked at her like he guessed, but was clearly not happy.

“I didn’t know you were so nice,” she smiled.

He blinked and the dark cloud lifted. “Oh. Well, thank you. I’m not as nice as you might think.” He picked up his wine. “You want some help with that?”

She glanced to the crustacean shell. “No. Thank you, I can manage. It’s half the fun!”

He smiled and she hid her nervous exhale. “You have a boyfriend?”

She chuckled, fighting with her messy meal. “Ha! Um…no. I wouldn’t be here with you!”

“I just had to check.”

“You have a girlfriend?”

He cut into his filet and smiled. “I’ve never had a girlfriend.”

Her mouth slackened. “Never?”

“Never found someone I felt this way about before now.”

Michelle stared at him and wiped her fingers again. He smiled at the forgotten lobster, and waited for her to speak. That took some time. She couldn’t believe what she’d just heard, and that it was given without guile. “We just met,” she reminded him in a whisper, even though she knew that didn’t matter. Sometimes that’s all it took, and this was definitely one of those times for her, too.

He nodded, his voice low and thoughtful. “I know. It’s very strange.”

“It is, but I love it.”

He smiled and sighed. “Good. You want to get out of here soon?” He reached over and effortlessly cracked her lobster like it was a toothpick. “I want to hurry up, but I keep making you forget what you’re doing.”

She laughed and dug out some of the juicy sweetness, dipping it in butter. “Are you going to cut my meat, too?”

He grinned and shook his head. “I have a feeling from that look on your face, you’d cut my hand off if I tried.”

“Oh really!”

“Yes,” he laughed. “The lioness is back and the lamb has disappeared.”

Michelle chuckled at the accuracy of his awareness, and they ate their meal chatting easily about different topics. She loved hearing his voice as he explained why he loved living Downtown over mid-city, that he liked the grittier aspect of the area. Underneath their conversation she was very, very aware that he just expressed an interest in taking her somewhere else in a hurry. She had visions of his private bed and what it must be like, or maybe the back of that limo, and more than once he paused like he could sense she was turned on. The heat in his eyes was palpable and he kept glancing down as though he could see through the table to her dampened panties.

As soon as their plates were cleared, Nathaniel asked for the check. She played with the napkin on her lap to keep her mind off what was about to happen. All she wanted was for him to sweep his arm across the table, throw everything onto the floor, and lay her down right there and now.

“You smell amazing,” he said, thickly.

She glanced up. “I do?”

“You have no idea.” The lust in his eyes made her breath hitch. “Let me just text Nigel to bring the car around.” He typed quickly then looked at her again, tucking the phone into his pocket. They stared at each other until the server returned with his Credit card and receipt, and when he signed it, he barely looked down like he couldn't take his eyes off her. “Let’s go,” he said, thickly. Rising, he crossed to lead her out and she slid her hand through his offered arm. They left the restaurant, both unaware that there were other people in the room and that the hostess stared longingly after their departure.

They walked into the cool night air, the sun gone. Nigel was parallel-parked out front, and there was a cop car behind his. Two uniformed police officers stood outside waiting. “Nathaniel Jacobs?” one asked as they walked up.

Nathaniel’s steps slowed and the muscles in his arms clenched. Michelle stared at the cops, glancing up to her date with concern. She knew immediately why they were here.

B
ehind them
, Nigel watched his boss and friend, shrugging to signal that he couldn’t think of what to do fast enough, that he’d had no choice. Nathaniel’s pulse raced, but he kept cool as he answered, reaching to cover Michelle’s small hand with his own much larger one. “Yes. That’s me. Is there a problem?”

“Sir, we have some questions for you if you don’t mind.” The officers watched him closely in that way that seasoned truth-catchers always do. “We’ll just take a minute,” the other added, glancing to Michelle and noticing their dressed-up attire.

Nathaniel smiled amiably, disguising his unease. Their timing could not have been worse, because if they were going to ask him about Saturday night, that she would hear these questions when he hadn't had a chance yet to explain, was the most unwanted thing in the world. “I’ll help in any way I can.” He glanced to Michelle, wondering if he could ask her to give him a moment, but the officer didn’t give him the chance.

“On Saturday night, we have on local cameras that this car was near a crime scene. By any chance did you see an animal roaming the streets when you were Downtown?”

Nathaniel shook his head, appearing surprised. “Was there a dog attack again?”

“No. A wolf.”

He didn’t betray the dryness in his throat as his eyebrows raised like any normal person’s would. “A wolf? In New York? No! Oh, this is what they were talking about on the news. No, I didn’t see anything.”

“Your driver said he didn’t either, but sometimes when you’re riding as passenger you see more.”

So Nigel lied for me? Why?
Nathaniel smiled in agreement, appearing struck by the idea that a wolf was loose. “I’ve seen that news story…”

Overlapping him, Michelle agreed, “Everyone has!”

He didn’t miss a beat as he finished, “but believe me, if I’d have seen a wolf, I would have told you. I would have told everyone! Put it on Instagram and everything. Would have had to start an account to do so,” he added with a smile.

The cops laughed. “Yeah, it would have been something to see.”

“So, the zoo is saying none of their wolves got out?”

One of the officers shook his head as the other answered, “That’s their story. Between you and me, we’re not buying it.” The men shared a knowing look at how people are, and Nathaniel felt Michelle’s fingers tighten on his arm.

“It’s so scary to think of!” she said. There was something in her voice that alerted him to the fact that she knew they were both averting certain disaster here. But then he realized she probably had not reported what happened to her, and wanted the police to go away just in case they were to question her next.

“Well, we’ll let you get back to your date,” the more vocal officer told her with a respectful smile.

“Thank you,” Nathaniel told them. Nigel walked around the car and opened the door for them.

“Have a good night, officers,” Nathaniel said as he walked Michelle to the car.

“You too.” They headed for their police vehicle, the radios on their hips alerting them that a 211 was taking place on Houston Street. “Friday nights,” one mumbled as they got in.

Nathaniel let Michelle in first as he listened closely to their conversation. From their casual banter and change of subject, he knew they hadn’t suspected anything in him. All of his muscles were tight and his jaw hurt from him trying not to clench it. He cast a look to his driver as he lowered himself into the vehicle. They would talk later.

The door shut and he stared out the window, momentarily caught in the what had just happened, before he remembered Michelle. Turning to her with forced casualness, he found her keenly staring at him like she knew everything. His heart slammed in his chest and he looked to the divider as Nigel asked, “Where to?”

“Central Park.” He heard his low voice crackle with shakiness, and cleared his throat. “Thank you.”

Nigel nodded and met his eyes in the rearview, then pulled the car away, merging with traffic. The window rolled up to give them privacy again and Nathaniel was grateful for the thought. But what to say to Michelle with her looking at him like this, he had no clue.

He took her hand and stared out the window, wondering what he could tell her and how much. It was a while before they got to 51
^st
Street where the park began, and he took that time to consider the fact that he’d never revealed what he was to a human. Up in the woods they had only been werewolves in their small community. As the lights of the city flew by the window, he toyed with her fingers, his mind racing.

Nigel opened the door for them when they arrived and this time it was Nathaniel who helped Michelle out. She smiled at his driver and allowed herself to be led into the darkness as though she weren’t afraid of him in the slightest. The park in daylight was one thing, and she’d turned down that, but now with only old-fashioned lampposts to light their way, he knew something had changed. She trusted him implicitly. The fear he’d smelled on her when they were being questioned back there was gone. It was inexplicable as to why she was not the least bit concerned, since they were alone in a park at night and just the other night she had been assaulted. What was the cause of her calm? He was very curious to find out.

They walked a ways in silence, their hands entwined and lightly swinging. With her free hand, she held her coat tighter to her body and he saw this, and wrapped a warm arm around her. “That better?”

“Much. Thank you.” She met his eyes.

The patience he saw in her was stunning. He stopped walking and searched her face, dying to know what she knew. “Tell me.”

“Tell you what?”

He shook his head a little with impatience. He knew why he’d brought her here, it was the closest thing to a forest and nature as there was in the city. It calmed his wolf and made him feel at home. That made Nathaniel easy, but tonight it wasn’t working. Her pull on him combined with his curiosity at how much she knew was too powerful. “Why are you so comfortable here with me right now?”

Gazing up at him, he saw a decision pass over her pretty face. “I know it was you who saved me.”

His blood froze and he nodded slowly. “I see.”

“I just don’t know how…”

With his heart pounding in his ears, he rasped, “Don’t you?” He’d thought she hadn’t seen him, but was he wrong? “What did you witness that night?”

She glanced around to make sure they were alone. He knew that they were. He could hear a half-mile in every direction and that included heartbeats, if he paid as much attention as he way paying now. She reached up and touched his cheek, tracing her fingers down it as she looked into his eyes with tenderness. It eased the battle waging inside him. Her voice was so gentle as she said, “I was too terrified to look back, but I heard your voice telling me to leave. And today on the roof, when you were angry at Eli–”

“You recognized it?” She nodded. He grabbed her hand and held it to his cheek, closing his eyes. “I can only imagine how I sounded. You aren’t afraid of me?”

“You saved me from a lifetime of pain. How could I be afraid of you?”

He pulled her close, kissing her deeply. “Michelle!” he said hoarsely against her lips. He kissed her again and she slid her arms around his neck, allowing herself to be consumed by his kisses, meeting his tongue as it reached for hers. They explored each other’s mouths and he couldn’t believe how good she tasted.

She tasted like love.

Pulling away, he struggled to catch his breath, his wolf thrashing about inside him desiring to claim her and put his stamp forever on her. But he’d never shown what he was to a woman before. He’d kept all females at a safe distance, and that caution wouldn’t last here; he felt it! “I don’t want you to ever be afraid of me,” he whispered against her lips, tortured by the images of exposing the whole truth.

“I couldn’t be!” She kissed him. “Not ever!”

He grabbed her head roughly and looked into her eyes. “You don’t know everything.”

“Then tell me!”

The thought that he could do just that, that the words were on the tip of his tongue, was devastating. He let her go and took her hand, leading her deeper into the park. “You don’t know what you’re saying.”

“What
are
you?”

He glanced over, surprised by the question. “What do you mean, what am I?”

“I know you’re not human.”

He halted abruptly and stared at her in shock. She pressed her body to him and tucked her head into his chest, wrapping her arms around to hold him tight. The lamb was back and he wanted nothing more than to protect her, even if that meant from him. “I’m a man. Plain and simple,” he whispered. “And I want you so badly I can hardly stand it.”

She met his eyes, her chin resting on his chest. He saw she didn’t believe him but for some reason he couldn’t fathom, she didn’t push for more. “Nathaniel, take me home. I need to feel your skin against me. I need you.”

Heat rushed though him and he nodded, kissing her hard on the lips before grabbing her hand and leading her back to the car so quickly she had to jog to keep up. He pulled out his phone and said, “Text Nigel.”

The phone’s computer voice replied, “Okay. What would you like to say to Nigel?”

“Come get us.”

“Okay. I’m sending your text.”

By the time they arrived on 51
^st
Street, the car was waiting with Nigel at the ready. “Take us back to Ms. Nero’s apartment.”

“Yes, sir.”

Inside the car, the privacy of the large backseat drove him insane. He sat away from her, holding her hand firmly on the leather between them. He felt her looking at him and when he turned, there was worry in her eyes. “What’s wrong?”

She licked her lips self-consciously. “I’m just wondering why you’re way over there.”

A rueful smirk pulled at him. “If I start touching you now, I won’t be able to stop. And Nigel has a way of hitting the brakes when we least expect it. I need you alone. Really alone.”

“Oh!” A relieved smile flashed in her eyes and on her lips. She stroked his hand and watched out the window as the buildings passed. He took the opportunity to trace her body with his hungry glance. She was full-figured and proud of it and he couldn’t wait to taste her. The scent of her arousal lost to most human males, drove Nathaniel’s wolf wild for her. Grabbing the door handle with white knuckles, Nathaniel waited until the precious moment when he could open it and whisk her upstairs.